A World Away Living the Argentine Life in Cordoba: Estancia el Colibri

The American in me has a romantic love for the cowboy/home on the range/dude ranch life. So naturally, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to experience the Argentinian gaucho life as well as take a couple of polo lessons; as the Argentines are great polo players. So I decided to head to Estancia el Colibri.

I've always enjoyed riding, and I've like watching polo. The speed and grace of the horses paired with the agility and poise of the riders in the midst of swinging mallots and horses on a crash collision course makes it a nerve-wrecking game to watch. So I really wanted to see what it takes to play polo.

Peo, el Colibri's polo pro preparing for an afternoon on the polo fields

I got a taste when I spent an afternoon with Peo, the polo pro at el Colibri. Now I'm hooked. And I'm not even a strong rider. Peo is a wonderful teacher, especially since he didn't speak English (except to say, "in our country" followed by a demonstration of riding position, to emphasise that there is a difference between English and Argentine riding styles) and I hardly understood Spanish. Peo is an incredibly encouraging teacher, the kind that is good at finding fun ways to help you learn the various skills required for polo.

But probably what made me a much better rider than I actually am in Argentina is the horses. I have never ridden on such well-tempered and responsive horses than at el Colibri. Later, when I mentioned this to Stephanie, the French proprietress, she responded simply, "Yes, they are like F1 horses."

Estancia el Colibri, I learned, is the result of a conscious decision of Stephanie & Raoul Fenestraz to transplant their lives and that of their 3 children from France to Argentina. Raoul's family is in the hospitality business in Courchevel. I found their story appealing. It's very American, in a way, reminiscent of the pioneers that headed out to tame the wild, wild West. Stephanie & Raoul had a vision of starting a new life, in a country that harks back to a different era, a seemingly simpler time -- "Buenos Aires reminds me of Paris 20-30 years ago," Stephanie was lamenting the passing of a more laid-back, less commercial Paris.

The Fenestrazs moved to Argentina six years ago. Estancia el Colibri was three years in the planning, opening three years ago. Just last year, they acquired another property in Salta, the northern part of Argentina, called House of Jasmines. When I first met Stephanie on the polo fields the afternoon of the Saturday I arrived, she greeted me with, "It's a wonderful life here, isn't it." To which, I had to agree. I arrived in the morning in time for breakfast.


Olivier, the manager, had arranged for me to go on a ride around the 400-acre property with Martin, one of the gauchos, and another couple. The property is a working farm and is therefore fairly self-sufficient in terms of supplying meats, vegetables and eggs for the various meals. Apparetnly, kids love taking part in the farming activities.




In the afternoon, guests were invited down to the polo fields for a match the Fenestrazs had organized to celebrate their eldest daughter's 17th birthday. That evening, they were throwing a party in the clubhouse, to which guests had been invited as well.


Returning from the polo match, a couple of guitarists were playing in the living room for the evening. Olivier had organized a pre-dinner wine tasting. We were ushered into the wine cellar, where an incredible spread of mouth-watering hams and cheeses had been laid out to accompany the three Malbec wines we were tasting (one each from Patagonia, Salta and Mendoza).


Dinner was asado (Argentine BBQ), with a variety of meats and sausages. The only thing I did not like was the mollejas (sweetbread).

The following morning, I went for my 10K Nike+ Human Race run in the polo fields, followed by a wonderful breakfast of poached eggs, ham and toast with lots of dulce de leche, of course. It was actually the chef here that told me it takes 4 litres of milk, 1kg of sugar, 1 tsp of baking soda, vanilla and six hours of stirring over low, simmering heat to make 700g of dulce de leche. I would later learn the short-cut version. The afternoon was spent on horseback with Peo and chatting with Stephanie.

Very early the next morning, Stephanie drove me to the airport while her eldest daughter slept in the backseat (the airport is on the way to her daughter's school) and she was going into town for a workout with her personal trainer. As we chatted in the car, her passion for creating this quintessential Argentine experience for her guests came through. I got the sense that it's about recreating our connection with nature, living a simpler life. As I write this, a week after the near-collapse of America's financial markets (i.e. the bankruptcy of Lehman, the sale of Merrill Lynch, the rescue of AIG, the death of the investment bank), I could understand the appeal, not just for guests, but for a French family to start afresh setting up their idea of a dream life, in a not-yet fully developed foreign land, for guests to experience. It's a wonderful escape -- waking up each morning, a world away from the hustle and bustle of city life, all its worldly temptations and complications.